An heir to one of Italy's oldest aristocratic families was accidentally shot dead during a wild boar hunt in Tuscany on Sunday, inflaming a row over a proposed extension to the Italian hunting season.

Giuseppe Orlando, 42, was shot in the back by a fellow hunter at his family's estate after he left his shelter to approach a wounded boar, La Repubblica reported.

The death of Orlando, whose 13th-century ancestor Count Ugolino della Gherardesca appears in Dante's Divine Comedy, followed a report last week that 30 people have been accidently killed and 87 wounded during this winter's Italian hunting season.

"Giuseppe was a splendid person who was no stranger to hunting and its ­dangers," said his uncle, Count Gaddo della Gherardesca. "Sometimes, however, misfortune can surprise you anywhere, even in the places you know and love the most."

The Duchess of York said today she had spent "endless happy times" with the family and was "devastated" over Giuseppe's death. The Della Gherardesca family is descended from Count Ugolino, who was imprisoned with his sons for treason in 1288 and starved to death, an episode recounted by Dante and Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales. Down the centuries the family gained a reputation as good fighters. "We have always been armed to the teeth," Gaddo has said. Police suspect the shot that killed Orlando as he led the hunt at the Castagneto Carducci estate was fired by a friend who may now be charged with manslaughter, Italian news agency ANSA reported. Italians living in the countryside are accustomed to hunters stalking prey across their property, as permitted under Italian law. But uproar followed the passing of a bill in the senate last month that could allow an extension of the five-month bird hunting season.

Senator Roberto Della Seta of the opposition Democratic party said this year's tally of accidental shootings would soar if the measure passed the lower house to become law. "All those on the centre right who want year-round hunting would be advised to read this list of hunting deaths and injuries," he said.